The Cat
by Xx-silent-assassin-xX
Summary: Renee makes good on her threat. Side story to Living the Dream that wasn't going to make it to the final story. Some minor Gwen bashing


**Hello everybody! Here's a little side story to Living the Dream that I hope you enjoy while I work on rewriting the series. It wasn't going to make it into the final cut, but it had to be written. Feel free to follow me on my tumblr at mythicalheartbeat for any questions or requests for this story that you may have. I'm always more than happy to answer and I would love to talk about this series or others I'm working on.**

\- Torchwood -

Gwen sighed as she made her way up to her apartment, shoulders slumped from the rain outside and water squishing in her shoes. She was soaked to the bone, absolutely freezing, and she hadn't been able to get off work until close to midnight. Suzie had been running her to the bone while Owen and Tosh were off on their honeymoon and and while she was sure there were other people who could be doing this, complaining didn't seem to do anything except make her work load worse.

Ever since she broke up with Jack, or rather when he broke up with her, she had to move out of his apartment. It wasn't by her choice, she felt like she could win him back if they spent more time together, but he had insisted and she had no choice but to find a new place and get out. She was living in a small one-room apartment now, with loud neighbors and pipes that creaked when she showered and she hated it so much. It was the best she could do right now though, so until she can get back in Jack's good graces, she was going to have to just power through.

The lock on her door tended to stick, and it took a good bit of jiggling with her key to get it open. She cursed under breath as it jerked opened and she huffed as she closed and locked it behind her. She kicked her shoes off as she pulled her coat off, hanging it on the hook before she made her way back to her room. All she wanted right now was a hot shower and some pajamas. Depending on how tired she was, she may curl up on the couch and try to find something to watch on the television.

She paused in the doorway to her room, eyes locked on her bed. There, on the comforter, was a tiny ball of fluff. A ball of fluff that was yawning and stretching out. A ball of fluff that was looking at her and letting out a tiny mew. How the hell did a cat get in her apartment? None of the windows opened, and the door was locked when she got home. So how...

She decided to worry about it later as she stepped closer to the small kitten. It was kind of cute... Black fur with white paws and a little white heart shaped on its forehead. It mewed at her again and she found herself reaching out to pet it before she could stop herself. It was soft, and a little on the skinny side. She'll have to get it some milk or something after her shower.

It took her longer than she wanted to actually step away from the kitten and into the bathroom, but the promise of a hot shower was too much of a temptation to warm her cold fingers. She couldn't help but give it one last pet before stepping into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

She started the shower, turning it on hot so it could get warmed up, before she peeled off her wet clothes, letting them drop into a pile on the floor to deal with later. Thankfully it didn't take long for the water to heat to the level that she liked, and she stepped under the stream. The water felt good after the cold rain and her fingers tingled as they warmed up.

She stayed in the shower until the water started to run cold, which in a place as rundown as this was, was less than half an hour. She had to quickly wash her hair and body, and she shivered slightly as she stepped out and dried off. She was a lot warmer than she was though, so she couldn't complain.

Any thought that she had earlier imagined the kitten was dashed as she stepped back into her room to get dressed and saw the small creature still on her bed. She eyed it curiously as she got dressed, and she carefully picked it up. She still wasn't sure how it got into her apartment, but it was cute and seemed healthy. She'd give it some milk and see if there's any missing pet reports tomorrow.

Humming softly to herself, she made her way into her tiny kitchen, warming up a small saucer of milk for the kitten before making herself a cup of tea. She brought both into the living room and curled up on the couch, flipping idly through the channels on her television to find something to watch before bed.

\- TW-

Gwen had asked her neighbors if anyone had lost their cat, but the ones who actually answered the door hadn't seen it before. There were no missing pet articles in the paper either, so she decided she'd just keep it in her apartment with her. The poor thing was rather small, and it was going to be getting cold soon, so she really couldn't just let it roam free.

She named it Mittens after her white paws and she found that she rather enjoyed having her around. It was nice to come home and have someone happy to see her, always waiting by the door with a cheerful mew and for a scratch behind the ear. Since the cat couldn't talk either, she couldn't exactly tell Gwen to be quiet when she complained to much about work.

She was humming softly to herself, fixing herself some dinner as the rain poured outside, Mittens rubbing up against her ankles. Since finding her little furball, she found that she wasn't so stressed from work and was generally in a better mood. No one had come round asking about her, so she figured it was okay that she just kept her here.

She just turned her burner off and moved the hot skillet to the side when lightening flashed and the power flickered out. She cursed loudly, fumbling in the dark for her spare drawer, pulling a flashlight out just as the power came back on. "Stupid building..." she muttered, dropping the light back into the drawer and slamming it shut. She turned to grab a plate out of an upper cabinet and nearly screamed at the figure standing in the doorway to her kitchen.

"What the hell?! How the hell did you get in here?!" she demanded, a hand pressing to her chest to try to calm the racing of her heart.

"Hello Gwen." Renee gave a smile, head tilting slightly to the side. It had been easy to get in, the front door didn't exactly lock, which she was sure Gwen wasn't aware of just yet. "I've come to follow through with a little promise I made to you."

"Promise? What promise are you talking about?"

A small mew by her feet brought her attention down to Mittens, and suddenly the 'promise' came rushing back to her. How she'd find a cat, fall in love with it and then... She looked up, not having noticed Renee move closer or her pulling her fist back.

Pain blossomed on her face and she stumbled to the side, hand hitting the handle of her skillet and knocking it to the ground. Mittens let out a startled noise and bolted under the table while Gwen was left seeing stars. By the time her vision cleared, Renee was gone, the only sound was the rain outside and, a quick glance down confirmed it, her cat eating what was supposed to be her dinner.

What the hell just happened?


End file.
